Process of using dihaloalkenes and dihaloalkynes as bird repellants



United States Patent 3,474,177 PROCESS OF USING DIHALOALKENES ANDDIHALOALKYNES AS BIRD REPELLANTS Lyle D. Goodhue and Andrew J. Reinert,Bartlesville,

Okla, assignors to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of DelawareNo Drawing. Filed Dec. 22, 1967, Ser. No. 692,717

Int. Cl. A01n 9/30 US, Cl. 424-351 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURECompositions comprising dihaloalkenes and/or dihaloalkynes are found tobe repellent to birds. By spreading these compositions on a locus, suchas the normal roosting places, the birds are repelled therefrom.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to Class 167, Medicines,Poisons and Cosmetics; Subclass 46, Animal Poisons.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Certain birds,especially starlings, are a great nuisance especially in large citieswhere they roost in a locus such as on ledges on buildings in largenumbers. The expense in cleaning the buildings runs into thousands ofdollars a year in each city and the appearance of the buildings is quitebad, along with the danger to people passing by as to contamination byand possible sickness contracted from the bird droppings.

Compositions comprising dihaloalkenes and/or dihaloalkynes are found tobe repellent to birds. By spreading these compositions on normalroosting places, the birds are repelled therefrom and may leave theneighborhood.

One object of the present invention is to repel birds from desiredtreated loci, or normal roosting places.

Another object is to provide processes for repelling birds.

Numerous other objects, advantages and features of the present inventionwill be obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading the followingdescription andclairns.

I DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS This invention relatesto birdrepellents, and especially to a method for discouraging birds fromresting on a particular surface.

In accordance with this invention, birds are discouraged from resting ona particular surface by applying to said surface a dihalo compoundhaving the formula where R is at least one member selected from thegroup consisting of hydrogen and alkyl radicals having 1 to 6 carbonatoms; X is at least one member selected from the group consisting ofchlorine, bromine, fluorine and iodine;

3,474,177 Patented Oct. 21, 1969 Ctt and A is an unsaturated radicalselected from the group consisting of CEC and where R is at least onemember selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, methyl and ethyl;and wherein the total number of carbon atoms in said dihalo compounddoes not exceed about 16. The preferred dihalo compounds are those inwhich R and R are hydrogen and X is chlorine or bromine. However, somerepellency is obtained with X being fluorine or iodine.

The bird repellents of this invention can be applied to a particularsurface as the pure substances or in combination with a carrier or inertmaterial. For example, the repellents can be applied in the form of asolution or emulsion in a solvent or carrier such as water, acetone,alcohol, dimethyl sulfoxide, kerosene, hydrocarbons which boil betweenabout 260 and 800 F., and the like. If desired, emulsifying or wettingagents can be present. The repellents can also be applied as dusts,using solid carriers such as kieselguhr, talc, silica gel, molecularsieves, diatomaceous earth, and the like. In addition, the repellentscan be applied in conjunction with an adhesive to the surface from whichbirds are to be repelled. Suitable adhesives include latex, gelatin,methyl cellulose, polyisobutylene and petrolatum. These repellents canalso be used in solvent and fed to the locus through a suitable porouswick of cotton or the like.

The bird repellents of this invention can be applied in any convenientmanner, such as by spraying, brushing, dusting, etc.

The bird repellents of this invention are applied to surfaces from whichbirds are to be repelled in a manner so as to deposit an amountpreferably within the range of about 0.01 to 10 grams of the activerepellent substance per square foot of surface treated. Larger amountsof the repellent, of course, can be used.

Example I The repellency of 1,4-dibromo-2-butyne was tested by thestandard two-roost test. In this test a cage 32 inches wide, 36 incheshigh and 72 inches long was provided with two perches across its width,each perch 32 inches long and 12 inches from the adjacent end. Roostingon the floor was discouraged by flooding the floor with water. Exhausthoods were placed above each perch and were actuated by fans to draw offany vapors so they could not be deleterious to the other perch. Fourlive and healthy starlings were placed in each cage and observed througha peephole in an adjacent screen (which prevented the birds from seeingthe observer) after 60, 75, 90, and minutes had elapsed. Withoutrepellents there should be two birds On each perch, which multiplied bythe number of five observations should be a score of 10 for each perch.A score of 4 or less on the treated perch is considered to demonstratesome repellency, and a score of 3 or less on the treated perch isconsidered to show suflicient repellency to be an excellent repellent.1,4-dibromo-2-butyne was even better than 3 with an average score of 0.7on the treated perch in three tests of five observations each. Incontrast, the following materials had no repellency at all, having scoreof average values between 9 and 11.

3-dimethylaminopropyl dithiocarbamic acid.

Acetyl-fl-methyl choline chloride.

Dimaleic anhydride condensate of cyclopentadiene.

Adipic acid dihydrazide.

In each of the above tests, 2 grams of the chemical tested was appliedevenly to the perch that was observed through the peephole. A score offrom 9 to 11 indicates substantially no repellency test.

- Example II I whatsoever, as the birds are free to move where theyplease at all times throughout the talc, silica gel, molecular sieves,and diatomaceous earth.

All such compositions are effective as bird repellents in Example II forthe practice of this invention include 1,4-

from 1 to 99 percent and preferably 1 to 25 percentby weight of theactive ingredient can be employed with the remainder of the compositioncomprising the selected carrier. The carrier, as stated in the third tofifth paragraphs under the subtitle Description of Preferred Embodimentsabove, is selected from the group consisting of water, acetone, alcohol,dimethyl sulfoxide, kerosene, hydrocarbons boiling between 260 and 800F., latex, gelatin, methyl cellulose, polyisobutylene, petrolatum,kieselguhr,

Example II for the practicel of this invention.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A method of repelling birds from a building surface which comprisesdepositing on the surface of-the building from which the birds are to berepelled arepellent amount of an active ingredient having theformulaX-(IJA-(b-X wherein R is hydrogen or alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, Xis chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine, and A is an unsaturated,linkage selected from the group consisting of --CEC- and C=C- V where Ris hydrogen, methyl or ethyl, and the total number of carbon atoms insaid ingredient does not exceed about 16.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the active ingredient is1,4-dibromo-2-butyne.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 559,235 6/1958 Canada.

ALBERT T. MEYERS, Primary Examiner V. D. TURNER, Assistant Examiner

